


isn't she lovely; made from love

by neckwear



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Domestic, F/M, Fluff, Parenthood, Royai - Freeform, Royai bby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 00:56:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8182715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neckwear/pseuds/neckwear
Summary: He stood with her in the winter while she knelt before her child's grave. There was nothing in the box they buried but she had insisted, and he had fallen to the ground to hold her as she started to cry.





	

They had been trying for a while now, but with no luck. No new symptoms or sicknesses appear, Riza is still normal and healthy as ever. Really, they should be rejoicing that she is even well to begin with. 

Through complicated circumstances, Riza had miscarried. The doctors aren't sure how or why, which infuriates Roy until they explain that sometimes, there is just no reason why it happens.

The doctors keep a close eye on her from there on out, and while they always say she's in tip top shape, they don't worry about her mental state, and if they do it's very little. Roy feels guilty whenever he leaves her behind to travel to a far off city - he knows about her nightmares, her tears (while they may be left over from her being pregnant, she claims they're hormones and nothing else), he stood with her in the winter while she knelt before her child's grave. There was nothing in the box they buried but she had insisted, and he had fallen to the ground to hold her as she started to cry. 

He comes home on a summer night from Briggs. Drachma had tried to invade before he arrived and when he did, they had already been suppressed by the Briggs men led by Major Armstrong. However, he had made a big leap and signed a treaty that held them off for the time being. 

Roy is exhausted. He had called in advance, though, and Riza decided that it would be nice to make dinner for that night, like she did when he snuck to her house while they were both in the military. She lets the cooks have the night off, and makes something simple that she knows he'll appreciate either way. While she sets the table, too big for only two people, he digs out the wine glasses and plucks one of the wine bottles out of the rack at random. 

He sets one in front of her after he pours himself a glass, and as he tips the bottle she puts her hand over her glass. Riza looks at him and gives him a little smile, it's such a simple thing but Roy is smart and he knows her inside out. His confused look turns into a grin, she lets herself smile a bit wider as he sets down the bottle and kneels in front of her. "How long have you known?"

"A month or so," she responds. "As long as you've been gone."

His hands trail over her stomach, she isn't showing yet but that doesn't matter. Knowing she will have their child, that they've been granted a second chance, is all that he needs. Suddenly, he glances up at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were so busy and stressed already," she says, and then she shrugs. "Besides, I wanted to surprise you."

Roy shakes his head but he is still beaming, he leans up and kisses her over and over again until she runs out of breath. Riza laughs against his lips, her sight is dizzy as she looks down at him. She had been experiencing awful nausea and morning sickness, and she can feel it coming on. "Roy..."

"Yes?"

"I think I might throw up."

\---

Roy is in a city north of Central, away on official business, when he gets a call from Edward (his family had been visiting, as Riza was too pregnant to get around by herself) who tells him Riza is going into labor.

His immediate reaction is to overreact, and he talks at a mile a minute, asking how she's doing and if everything is going smoothly. Ed has to calm him down and simply tells him to drop what he's doing and come home, but not without saying, "She's calmer than you are and she's giving birth. Relax."

The train ride is agonizing. He wishes it would travel faster, he is Fuhrer after all, shouldn't they make special exceptions for him, especially in circumstances like this? Instead, he bears it. He tries to sleep but can't, the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach won't go away long enough for him to get a wink of sleep. 

He arrives home around five am, and rushes inside the mansion despite his servants and guards trying to stop him to ask why he's home so early. Ed is waiting for him, and leads him to outside the room, refusing to let Roy in. He tells him the baby needs to be born in a peaceful environment, and Roy wonders when he got to be smarter than him in something like childbirth. 

The midwife and Winry appear from the room a few hours later, and there is a sheen of sweat on their faces. Winry doesn't have to tell him, but he lets her inform him that he can go in now. Roy thanks the two of them before going inside the room, closing the door quietly behind him. 

His eyes immediately land on Riza. There is light coming in through the crack in the curtains, illuminating her face. Her hair is a rumpled mess, she is drenched in sweat, her breath is slow but he can tell she's tired. She's looking down, and his eyes wander that way, and he lays his eyes on their new baby. 

She - it's a girl, and his heart soars at having a daughter - is wrapped up in a soft pink blanket, and isn't crying at all. The scene is almost too perfect, he thinks he may weep from the stress and anxiety he had held back to keep himself somewhat calm.

Riza looks up as he steps closer, and gives him a smile. She may have just given birth but it makes her look absolutely ethereal, he feels like he's in the presence of an angel. There's a chair next to the bed but he doesn't sit, he pushes it aside so he can stand closer to her. "Do you want to hold her?"

Roy's eyes widen and his heart skips a beat. He's held babies before, Hughes made him hold Elicia whenever he visited and he's carried Ed and Winry's babies, but they were never his own. Riza hands theirs over, so small and delicate, and he takes her into his arms, cradles her head up. 

She has dark hair like his, and already has a full head of hair and that alone makes him smile. Her eyes are a deep brown and when he adjusts himself to wag a finger in front of her face, she smiles and her tiny hand reaches up to capture his finger. 

Roy looks down at Riza and finds her already asleep, her eyes closed, and he doesn't wake her up. Instead, he sits in the chair next to her, and falls asleep while holding his daughter, so close and tight.

Suddenly, he hears Riza say something, it's faint but he can hear her: "Have you ever loved something so much?"

Roy looks over at her and she has a small, sleepy smile on her face and her eyes are still closed. When the baby in his arms makes a small cry, alerting him, he glances down, and he thinks he finally understands why Hughes was so passionate about his family. 

\---

They name their daughter Penelope, it's Riza's idea and Roy finds he can't say no to her - besides, he likes the name himself. 

Luckily, she's an easy baby - she hardly cries, she always eats and when she sleeps, she is always out like a light. 

But when she cries, she doesn't stop for hours unless she's tended to. 

Roy groans when she starts to cry. He's been up all night, working on treaties and ways to appease rebels at the border. It is tiring, never-ending work and he rubs his face before standing. Roy can hear her wails from the hallway, and when he reaches the office door to go to the nursery, the crying suddenly stops. 

He picks up his pace as he walks down the hallway, and his intuition immediately warns him that something is terribly wrong - yet, when he comes to the door, which is open slightly, he finds the complete opposite. 

Riza is standing in the middle of the room, bouncing on her toes and humming as she pats the baby's back. His only hypothesis is that Riza had a nightmare, as she has a tendency to come to the nursery when she does, the colors of the walls calm her. The rhythm she's developed has seemed to calm her, and she doesn't even notice Roy when he comes in. 

The scene is almost too much for Roy to handle. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever expected to see this, not with the way their lives were before. He savors the moment - Riza has begun to hum a soft lullaby when Penelope starts up her cries again. She turns while humming, and catches his eye, smiling sleepily in his direction. 

"When did you get up?" she asks, raising a brow. She has rebellious strands of hair hanging around her face, the rest is up in a sloppy ponytail and she wears one of his shirts. She is an amazing woman, juggling the spotlight with being a new mother, along with other, much more personal things, she is a much stronger person than he could ever be. 

"When this little one started crying," he responds, and strides towards the two of them. He glances over Riza's shoulder and warmth fills him when he sees his daughter's face, so delicate and tiny. His arm moves so his hand covers the one Riza is using to hold up Penelope's small body. Roy is a lucky man. He deserves none of this but has been awarded it regardless.

Riza sighs. Roy looks over at her face and she looks positively exhausted. 

"Let me take her," he suggests. Riza shakes her head.

"It's fine."

"Riza --"

She gives him a look, holds their daughter closer to her chest. Riza really does remind him of a mother bird, like Edward jokes she is. She is ever protective, not giving up her child very easily. He finds it endearing, and makes him fall in love with her even more, if that's even possible. He knows how much she treasures her daughter, especially after everything she's had to go through to finally have her. 

Roy holds his hands up in surrender. He doesn't dare press the topic any further. He gives her a charming little smile and relents. "Don't mind me. I'll leave you to it."

Despite his teasing nature, he leans in to kiss her cheek. Riza presses her cheek to his lips as she smiles, closing her eyes. He grins against her skin, he has never been so in love with her as he is now. She still glows, an after effect of being with child. "Don't stay up too late, Roy."

"I'll try."

\---

Riza is getting ready for bed when she, belatedly, decides to try and get Roy to bed at a normal hour.

She figures he'll be in his office, as he usually is at such late hours; when she sees the light streaming under the doors, she sighs and shakes her head before opening the door. She starts to say his name but stops when she sees the moment before her. 

If Riza had thought it was unusually quiet, it's because Roy has taken their daughter from her crib and instead brought her with him to his desk chair. She is asleep on his chest, small and curled up and comfortable, while his head is thrown back as he sleeps. Riza smiles to herself, and draws forward farther into the room. 

"Roy," she whispers, close to his ear. He makes a slight groaning sound before stretching out his legs, opening his eyes. He tries to stretch his arms but then is aware of the one year old still sound asleep on his chest. "It's past midnight."

He moans quietly again, then looks up at her, his eyes filled with exhaustion. "I'm not done working yet," Roy tells her, and his voice is gravelly and hoarse. Riza raises her brow, gives him a look that tells him she thinks otherwise. 

"We should get Penelope to bed, at least."

Riza moves to take Penelope from him, and holds her in her arms as he rubs his eyes. Roy reaches his hand out, taking Riza gently by the waist and coaxing her onto his knee. She resists at first, but eventually relents, sitting down. 

"I'm comfortable here," he claims. "And so is she." Riza rolls her eyes, but holds their daughter closer and lies her head on his chest nonetheless. 

"If you insist."

\---

The only time Riza lets Penelope stay up late is when her father comes home from a trip.

Because of his job, Roy must be away for long stretches of time. Their only interactions while he's gone are over the phone, with Penelope babbling words (she learned how to speak quicker than most babies, something Riza prides herself on for teaching her) and giggling while he talks to her. 

Now, Penelope is just a little bit over eighteen months old and is learning slowly to walk. Whenever Winry and Ed visit to pick up tools she had bought for her business, she always stops by to see Riza, and their children try to help Penelope stand on her own two feet. It's incredibly charming and soon, Penelope can walk for a few moments before tumbling on her bottom and laughing afterwards. 

Riza always greets Roy when he comes home, she knows that his long trips exhaust him and he has told her that seeing her at the end of them makes them worth it. She usually holds Penelope but the little girl insists on standing on her own, to show off to her father how she's grown. 

His car pulls up the drive, and when he emerges from the back seat and Jean, who had taken up Riza's role as his bodyguard, follows after him. Penelope runs past Riza's legs, and the shock is apparent on Roy's face when she falls on the ground in front of him and immediately stands afterwards. 

She is laughing it off, and Roy shakes his surprise off quickly as he bends down to her, pulling her up into a hug as she giggles and squirms while he makes himself grin. He asks her how she learned to run and she tells him in baby terms that Mama taught her, and so did Aunt Winry's kids. 

Riza exchanges a look with Jean, and his wary glance tells her that he saw what she saw, as well. 

After the initial excitement from seeing her father, Penelope becomes suddenly tired so Roy puts her to bed. Riza watches in the doorway, her arms crossed and a small smile on her face as he reads her a story and she falls asleep in the middle of it. He puts the book back on the bookshelf, and when he walks to the door Riza uncrosses her arms to put her hands on his chest and leans up to kiss him. "Are you alright?" she asks when she sees the solemn look on his face. 

Roy is silent for a moment. Then, he moves out of the doorway to close the door behind him, leaning against it. "She learned how to walk," he says. "She learned how to walk, and I wasn't there."

He looks absolutely heartbroken and Riza's face softens at his regret. "Roy," she says his name softly, carefully, and he shakes his head. 

"I don't want to be foreign to her," he admits. "I don't want her to look back and wonder where I was for so long, why I was never with her."

"Roy." He looks away as she says his name, but her fingers touch his jaw and she turns his head, gently but at the same time sharply. She is a stubborn woman and she will not let him bury himself in self hatred, something he is accustomed to. "She knows you aren't abandoning her."

"How --"

"She's smart already," Riza reminds him. "And it isn't like you don't call her every chance you get."

"Still," he starts. "I missed her first steps. And her first birthday, too."

"There will be other firsts," Riza assures him. "Besides. She loves you more than anything. Probably more than me."

"Don't say that."

"It's true." Riza leans up to kiss him again, first on the cheek and then on the lips. He sighs into her kiss, relaxing against her touch. Her hands smooth over his chest and she looks up at him with a smile on her face after breaking their kiss. "She loves you Roy. We both do. Please try to remember that." 

Roy nods. He is entranced by how easily she can get him out of a foul mood, but then again they've known each other for nearly two decades - he shouldn't be so surprised. "I will try," he promises. Roy's hands find their way onto her hips. The shirt she wears is tucked into her pencil skirt and he attempts to undo the carefully arranged button up. "Now," he starts, and gives her a winning smile. "We finally have some alone time."

Riza laughs lightly, and her hand finds his. "Let's try and get to the bedroom first," she tells him, and he laughs too, bumping his forehead against hers. 

"Whatever you want."

\---

Roy is walking down the hallway, in a deep conversation with a General in the military about the state of operations in the country. Even if it isn't a military state any longer, he still needs to make sure the borders are protected on all sides, as being the leader of a landlocked country is difficult. However, it doesn't matter when he hears his daughter (she is three now and happier than ever, after recovering from her ever stubborn terrible twos) calling after him, hears her mother telling her not to bother him now. 

He and the officer turn, he sees Penelope running towards him and he beams and bends down to catch her, pick her up. Roy stands, holding her and she wraps her arms around his neck and smiles, and one of her teeth is missing, he assumes it's a baby tooth she lost. "Hello!" he says, smiling, and she loses herself in giggles. 

"Honey," Riza says, addressing her. "Come here. Don't bother Daddy while he works."

She hides her head into the crook of his neck but still looks at Riza, guilty, as Riza apologizes to the General who insists it is no big deal. "I'll be quiet," Penelope claims, looking pitiful. 

"If it's not a problem, I don't see why not," the soldier says, she looks at Riza kindly but not without a sort of respect. Riza gives both her and Roy an apprehensive look, then sighs.

"Fine. It's your turn to take care of her, anyway," she tells Roy, who laughs softly in return. 

"It's only fair."

Riza hesitates before she leaves them alone, murmurs something about finally getting to nap that makes Roy smile. He doesn't mind taking care of their daughter while he works, in fact he prefers it - he doesn't want to be a foreign figure in her life. 

And she _is_ quiet. Penelope ends up falling asleep, he's adjusted her so her head sits on his shoulder and his arm is holding her up, she is light compared to what he can carry. When the General leaves, Roy nudges her awake and she waves goodbye sleepily.

After laying her down in bed that night, he makes his way to his office, where he finds Riza leaning against his desk, reading over some paperwork. "What a nice surprise," he says, and flashes her a boyish grin as she rolls her eyes, she's told him a thousand times he doesn't have to woo her anymore because it obviously worked, but he has never stopped. If she's being honest, she finds it endearing. 

"Is she asleep?" she asks. Roy nods. He puts his hands on either side of her, he leans in close to kiss the tip of her nose. Riza smiles as he does, then sighs and leans into him, wrapping her arms around his waist as her head rests on his chest.

"What is it?" he asks, holding her close with his arms around her shoulders. She shakes her head, spreads her legs so he can fit easier against her. 

"I'm tired, that's all," she claims. Her arms squeeze around him gently, and it's comforting to him. 

"Maybe you should go to bed."

"Only if you do," she insists. "You've been working hard lately."

She feels a chuckle rumble in his chest against her head. "A leader's work is never done."

"Roy."

Riza shifts in his arms and he looks down at her, her grip is still secure on him. He knows what she wants - she wants the best for him, and right now sleep is what he needs. He sighs, and wonders how he can say no to her. "I suppose."

Riza gives him a satisfied smile, and without asking Roy sweeps her up, adjusting her so she fits comfortably in his arms bridal style. Riza pushes at his chest, demanding he put her down but she's laughing, he kisses her forehead as he carries her out of his office. 

She is so exhausted from helping him take care of the nation that she can hardly keep her head up or her eyes open and wonders how he manages to keep going. Roy carries her to their room, and lays her on the unmade covers on her bed. He moves to the other side, and wraps an arm around her waist again. She backs up against him, nuzzling against him until she is comfortable, her arms settled next to her head. 

His hand drifts to her stomach and he draws patterns there, waiting until she drifts off to sleep yet again to close his eyes himself.

**Author's Note:**

> yes i used a stevie wonder lyric as a title lol. this took me weeks to write and i'm glad to have finally finished it. Loads of thanks to Ace, for helping me come up with some of the ideas, and to Katy, who helped me develop them way back.


End file.
